pmed-0020146-g001: This painting is frequently used to teach undergraduates what a person with schizophrenia experiences (Painting: Craig Finn)

Mentions:
These numbers are consistent with key policy documents about point prevalence, but suggest that the 0.5%–1% estimate for lifetime prevalence given in many textbooks is an overestimate. This estimate, the authors suggest, “is another example where the research community needs to review their belief systems in the face of data.” Another often quoted statistic, namely that “schizophrenia affects about one in a hundred” most sensibly refers to lifetime morbid risk data. Here as well, the systematic analysis suggests that the reality is somewhat lower, and the authors suggest that “if we wish to provide the general public with a measure of the likelihood that individuals will develop schizophrenia during their lifetime, then a more accurate statement would be that about seven to eight individuals per 1,000 will be affected.”

pmed-0020146-g001: This painting is frequently used to teach undergraduates what a person with schizophrenia experiences (Painting: Craig Finn)

Mentions:
These numbers are consistent with key policy documents about point prevalence, but suggest that the 0.5%–1% estimate for lifetime prevalence given in many textbooks is an overestimate. This estimate, the authors suggest, “is another example where the research community needs to review their belief systems in the face of data.” Another often quoted statistic, namely that “schizophrenia affects about one in a hundred” most sensibly refers to lifetime morbid risk data. Here as well, the systematic analysis suggests that the reality is somewhat lower, and the authors suggest that “if we wish to provide the general public with a measure of the likelihood that individuals will develop schizophrenia during their lifetime, then a more accurate statement would be that about seven to eight individuals per 1,000 will be affected.”